Interview with the 2024 ICCI Health & Social Care Bursary Winners

This year Ben Newell & Frances Heaume from HSC received the top prize of £3,000 in our Health & Social Care Bursary which will enable them to get their project off the ground. We caught up with Ben Newell & Frances Heaume to find out what it meant to win this year's Insurance Corporation Health & Social Care Bursary.

How does it feel to have won this year's Bursary?

We are delighted to have been awarded the Insurance Corporation Bursary for our project ‘The ADHD Journey Hub’. Being awarded first prize reinforces the importance of and need for accessible, tailored ADHD information and resources for the Bailiwick. Additionally, it was a privilege to learn about the other fantastic projects that had applied for the Bursary this year. Hearing that these projects will also be receiving support, it’s exciting to think that there are four new, innovative projects in development that will benefit our local community.

How do you think the Bursary will help ‘The ADHD Journey Hub’ project?

The Bursary provides the resources and support we need to transform our vision into reality. It enables us to dedicate time and energy to building a project that’s well-informed, collaborative and impactful. We aim to use the funding to work with children and young people with ADHD and their families to co-produce resources that truly reflect their needs. We hope to use the funding to engage creative young people with ADHD to develop the resources, ensuring they’re inclusive and tailored to the Bailiwick’s unique context. Additionally, the Bursary process has connected with other professionals who we hope to collaborate with to bring this to fruition.

What are the next steps to get your plans off the ground?

Our immediate focus is on engaging service users within the ADHD clinic to understand their experiences, challenges and ideas. We plan to develop expert-by-experience focus groups to gather input from children, young people and their families, with the aim to feed back project developments throughout the year so that the final resource is shaped by the needs of this community.

How do you envisage your project might develop in the future?

We hope to create a sustainable, evolving platform for ADHD awareness and support. In the future, we envisage the project could expand to include information and resources on other neurodiverse conditions and their local assessment pathways.

What impact do you think your project will have on our community?

Through ‘The ADHD Journey Hub’, we aim to reduce stigma around ADHD and empower children, young people and their families with information and tools that make a difference in their daily lives. By fostering understanding and providing practical support, we hope to create a community where individuals with ADHD feel seen, supported and valued. Long-term, we believe this could lead to better outcomes in education, mental health and family wellbeing across the Bailiwick.